Tougher penalty advances for killing police dog in N.J.

The New Jersey Assembly gave final legislative approval Monday to a bill that would increase the penalty for killing a police dog.

What’s called “Schultz’s Law” is named for a Gloucester Township police dog killed in November in the line of duty. The dog was pursuing a robbery suspect who grabbed the dog and tossed it into the path of a car.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said the dogs in the K-9 units “are a part of the first responders that protect our communities and those people that would try to harm them willfully should serve a very stiff penalty.”

The maximum sentence for killing a police dog is currently three to five years in prison. The legislation that now goes to Gov. Chris Christie for his signature calls for a mandatory minimum five-year penalty without parole and fines up to $15,000.